Serenity (Firefly vessel)

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Serenity

Serenity during a VTOL maneuver on the surface of a planet
First appearance The Train Job (airdate)
General Characteristics
Class Firefly-class
Registry 03-K64
Auxiliary craft Two shuttles
Length 58 m
Width 35 m
Height 20 m
For other uses, see Serenity

Serenity is a fictional spaceship originally featured in the science fiction television series Firefly. It has also appeared in the comic book series Serenity: Those Left Behind and the film Serenity.

The ship, which is designated a 03 Firefly-class, fits the profile of a light freighter, having a cargo area equivalent to about six or nine semis. The photon-reaction drive in the bulbous rear section of the ship lights up when accelerating, resembling a firefly and, thus, the class moniker. The engine nacelles can rotate down like a VTOL aircraft. Whenever the ship lands, her wings fold down like the wings of a bird coming to rest. The aft of the ship is outfitted with extenders beside and below the photon-reaction drive to ease the turbulence of lift-off and atmospheric reentry. As she is a run-of-the-mill civilian cargo vessel, Serenity has no weapons or defenses beyond the guile and skill of her crew.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Contents

[edit] Ship layout

Serenity is a 03-K64 Firefly-class mid-bulk transport with a standard radion accelerator core. Its layout is triple-tiered. The upper deck houses the cockpit at the front, in the "head". Moving aft from the cockpit leads into a corridor through Serenity's "neck", in which the crew quarters are housed. The starboard quarters house the rooms of ship's mechanic Kaylee Frye (which stands out from the other bunks because of the strings of Christmas lights over the hatch) and captain Malcolm Reynolds, and the port quarters house the rooms for mercenary Jayne Cobb and married couple Zoe and Hoban "Wash" Washburne, the first mate and pilot, respectively, of Serenity. All of the crew quarters are positioned at a lower level than the corridor connecting them. Some are built such that after opening the hatch someone entering them must climb facing backwards down a ladder in order to access the room. Additionally the captain's quarters has a sink and toilet which fold into the wall, conserving space on the small vessel.

There is a passage in this corridor leading down to the upper cargo bay catwalk. The middle of the top deck, in Serenity's "thorax", is the galley and kitchen, hued in a gentle yellow and decorated in part by Kaylee's stencils of flowers. Aftwards of the galley, deep in Serenity's "abdomen" and accessible through the back of the galley, is the engine room, housing the Firefly drive and a great deal of mechanical interfaces. It also houses Kaylee's hammock.

Serenity's layout, as sketched by Joss Whedon and Carey Meyer
Enlarge
Serenity's layout, as sketched by Joss Whedon and Carey Meyer

The flight of stairs attached to the aft corridor leads down to the ship's common area, part of which is taken up by an enclosed medical bay. The common area is spacious, and furnished with settees and sofas; the medical bay is (usually) kept clinically clean. Aft of the common area and medbay are the passenger quarters, perhaps higher-quality than that of the crew's. They are of traditional Asian design, with simulated-rice-paper, sliding doors made of light diffusing plastic. Regular occupants of these quarters include doctor Simon Tam and his sister River, as well as Shepherd Derrial Book.

Forward of the common area is the cargo bay. An open space, two decks tall, it is the largest single room on the ship. Its upper catwalk is accessible via two flights of stairs. The front of the bay houses an airlock; the two inner lock doors slide in from either side, whilst the outer lock door rotates down and out, forming a convenient ramp when lowered. There are controls to operate the airlock both within the lock itself, and on the inside of the cargo bay. The outer lock door also has a door-like component in its centre, allowing personnel to enter and exit the ship without needing to open the ramp fully; however, for vehicular access or access for large cargo, the ramp must be lowered. There is a second airlock / cargo ramp directly in the center of the cargo area. It is used for a disposal / drop bay, but can be used to lower a small cargo elevator while the ship is hovering.

In "Bushwhacked", we learn through dialogue that the Firefly transport has "troublesome little nooks," that are favored by smugglers. In that respect, the Firefly is not unlike the Millennium Falcon from the Star Wars films; both are aging transport models pressed into service as smuggling vessels for anti-hero captains. In the episode "Serenity", cargo 'liberated' from a derelict transport is hidden in these nooks, to avoid awkward questions from the passengers the crew were about to take on. Onboard the Millennium Falcon, the crew has to hide in the smuggling compartments when the ship is pulled into the Death Star by a tractor beam. Stormtroopers board the ship looking for the crew, but are unable to find them.

The cargo bay also houses the "mule", a small local-transport vehicle. In the television series, this was effectively a yellow ATV modified for cargo hauling. This was destroyed in the episode "War Stories" after being set on fire, and was replaced by a hovering vehicle sometime before the main events in the film Serenity.

The upper catwalk also provides access to the ship's two shuttles. The port shuttle is general-purpose, and used for hauling cargo, escape purposes, or as an alternative means of transportation. The starboard shuttle was rented out to Companion Inara Serra during the television series. Both shuttles are extended out of the ship before launch, and drawn in when docked.

The main defensive device is called the "crybaby". Housed in a coffee can[1], the crybaby gives off a radio signal and electromagnetic signature that mimics a spacecraft in distress, requiring scanning pursuers to visually inspect the device to uncover the deception. The crybaby can also be outfitted with small, one-shot thrusters to give it the appearance of being a ship in flight. The crew uses crybabies to get out of trouble with the Alliance on more than one occasion.

[edit] Alterations for the film

The ship Serenity underwent some changes for the film Serenity, most obviously in the internal arrangement of the cargo bay. The entire rear wall has been replaced by a large, circular-patterned construct, presumably a structural link to the large rear engine in the "abdomen". A great deal of bracing has been added to the side walls, which themselves seem to be more circular than the angular walls seen in the series. The bomb bay airlock has been altered, in that the two inner lock doors have been replaced - they no longer rotate into the cargo bay, but instead lower slightly, then retract sideways into the floor. Finally, the forward airlock has also been replaced. The forward door no longer rotates outward into a ramp; rather, it is brought down and into the ship, sliding neatly underneath the airlock floor. This obviously has the advantage of allowing the airlock to open fully in more constrained conditions, which would have prevented the old ramp from opening fully.

The common area of the ship has seen few changes. The only major differences are that the circular structural construct in the cargo bay is mirrored on the forward wall of the common area; additionally, the portside wall is now effectively made out of storage spaces.The medical bay is also retrofitted and painted in a darker colour.

On the upper deck, the engine room is now home to a great deal more of piping, tubing, and other mechanical interfaces. The rear corridor is now lower than it was in the series as the stairs in and out of the galley to the rear corridor now lead down into the corridor, rather than up to it, as they did in the series. The galley's octagonal sitting area now has extra bracing, as well as seats with security straps to deal quickly with turbulence and rapid acceleration or deceleration of the ship. The forward corridor, again, has been braced more securely, with heftier-looking support struts. The ladder-doors now open more gently, seemingly outfitted with a cushioning mechanism. The bridge has seen few changes, but the forward flooring section has been entirely removed, exposing an extra cargo-storage section in the nose of the ship, and one of the access doors at the rear of the bridge has vanished.

The exterior of the vessel is also visually different. It has a new paint job, decked out in greyer and bluer colors than the bronzed Firefly of the series (many believe this to be deliberate on Joss and Zoic's part, as Serenity's interior and exterior colour schemes change throughout the film to reflect the characters and the story). The jet engine cowling has apparently fallen off, or been lost in some other way. Also, the extending rods attached to the engines are shown retracting when the engines turn, whereas in the show they do not. Finally, the struttish landing legs of the series have been replaced by legs of a more organic design, with better cushioning and claw-like 'toes'.

[edit] Speed

In the series, it was not made completely clear if the method of propulsion used by Serenity and other ships was sub-light or faster-than-light. The film Serenity implies that all the planets and moons are in one large system, and production documents related to the film indicate that there is no faster-than-light travel in the Firefly/Serenity universe.

[edit] History

Serenity was acquired by Mal in 2512, shortly after the end of the Unification War. Her name comes from one of the most decisive battles of the war between the Alliance and the Independents, which took place in Serenity Valley on the planet Hera. Mal and his first officer, Zoe, both veterans of the Battle of Serenity Valley, wanted to be free of Alliance control and having a ship seemed their best chance. Despite the fact that he lost everything in the Battle of Serenity Valley, Mal named the ship Serenity because (As revealed in a deleted scene on the DVD), "Once you enter Serenity, you can never leave". At the time it was purchased, Serenity was little more than a planet-bound derelict. She was still intact, still space-worthy, but her engines were broken and most of her equipment was in sore need of repair. Mal's plan was to acquire a pilot, mechanic, and cook (The last of which was apparently never acquired), and start taking jobs immediately. It took them almost a month to get Serenity off the ground, as her first mechanic, Bester, was not as skilled as advertised. Mal was quick to realize how hard it was to find work in an Alliance-controlled solar system, and is not above using Serenity for ill-gotten gain if the gain is high enough.

In the film, the crew disguise Serenity as a Reaver ship (in order to sneak through Reaver space) by strapping skeletons to the bow, causing the reactor core to leak, adding a weapon and pieces of an Alliance ship, and tearing holes in the hull. Later in the film, Wash is maneuvering Serenity through an air battle between the Alliance and the Reavers when the ship is struck by a Reaver's EMP weapon. With main power down, Wash is barely able to glide her into a controlled crash landing on the landing strip of Mr. Universe's complex; the landing gear is crushed, an engine pod is severed, and part of the main engine is destroyed before the ship comes to a complete stop.

The crew conduct major repairs and are able to fix the ship, however at the end a piece of the ship flies off as it leaves the atmosphere, echoing the first time the ship is shown in the film.

[edit] Trivia

  • The Serenity sets contain many components from modern day airliners:
    • Pilots' chairs on the bridge and in shuttles, with Boeing's signature sheepskin covering.
    • Boeing-style throttle quadrants in the engine rooms and shuttles.
    • Boeing-style control yokes.
    • What appear to be pilots' oxygen masks are dotted around the ship - most rooms have at least one.
    • Airliner galley-style cubbyholes and trolleys at the back of the galley.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Whedon, Joss (Producer), & Whedon, Joss (Director). (2004) Firefly "Serenity" chapter 2 "Vultures" commentary [DVD].
  2. ^ Image:SerenityBSGMini.JPG. Battlestar wiki (19 May 2006). Retrieved on 2006-11-16.

[edit] External links

The Firefly series
Episodes Serenity • The Train Job • Bushwhacked • Shindig • Safe • Our Mrs. Reynolds • Jaynestown
Out of Gas • Ariel • War Stories • Trash • The Message • Heart of Gold • Objects in Space
Spin-offs R. Tam sessions • Serenity: Those Left Behind • Serenity
Characters Derrial Book • Jayne Cobb • Kaylee Frye • Malcolm Reynolds • Inara Serra
River Tam • Simon Tam • Hoban Washburne • Zoe Washburne • Minor characters
Terminology Moons and planets • The Alliance • Blue Sun • Unification War • Serenity
Reaver • Browncoat • Firefly slang • Companion
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